The Mouse and the Barn Owl

Carrie was sick of the snow. Two days of shivering and nearly starving were plenty. Had she not skillfully removed the cheese wedge from the mouse trap, she would have starved. She could tell by the cramps and pains that labor was close at hand. To add to her misery, a barn owl had made its way into the barn.

Carrie hoped that the owl was simply sheltering in place. In the pit of her stomach, she knew better. The owl hadn’t spotted her yet, but it was only a matter of time. The labor pains were coming closer, lasting longer, and were brutally intense. Not wanting to move from her location in the loft of the barn, she waited and tried in vain not to shiver.

The owl flew to another beam. It was close enough that Carrie could smell it above the mold on a few of the hay bales. The bird snapped its head around as if it smelt something too. The bird’s eyes were deadly serious as they scoured the barn. Then, they looked straight at the straw covering Carrie. The pounding of her heart thumped in her ears. She did stop shivering but wondered if the pervasive and powerful beating of her heart was moving the straw. She didn’t dare cast her gaze away from the bird to find out. After all, the huge predator was now only focused on the straw covering Carrie.

She could see the chest of the giant danger lifting and sinking as it breathed. The chest seemed to flex with greater volume. She saw its eyes widen. She saw its beak open slightly. She saw the wings begin to move. She ran. The bird followed her path. She heard the screech of the talons scrap the side of the heavy wooden box that tilted against the wall. Carrie had just made it through the small opening between the box and the wall, to safety. She heard the violent sounds of the owl. She saw is beak and head struggling to get to her through the space between the box and the wall. The bird jumped across to the opening on the other side. It couldn’t get to Carrie. It pushed hard against the box. It began to move. Carrie slowly moved with it. The box moved a little faster. It moved a little faster still. It began to move so fast; Carrie was practically running to keep up. If the box fell on her, she would be crushed. The box wiggled some. It scrapped along the barn wall. With a loud and sudden bang, the box stopped. It was now wedged against a wall stud in the barn. The barn owl tried in vain to move the box. Carrie was safe. Then her water broke.

Carrie was at a loss and exhausted. She pondered whether to just end it all. There was no hope. Eventually, the bird would get her and her offspring. She looked ahead. That is when she noticed two things. There was a hole well beyond where she was. From the ground below, she saw the glow of light. She heard voices -human voices. Then, the light came where she and the owl were.

“What was that?” A son asked his father.

“I don’t know Doug.”

A flashlight beam searched the top of the barn.

“Look dad! An owl! How cool.”

The father shined the beam onto the owl.

“I want to get a better look.”

Doug began to clomp up the steps while the light beam was on the owl. Frightened, the owl flew out the window of the barn. Unseen by the humans, Carrie raced to the hole that the owl couldn’t get to. The solid wooden wall was impenetrable except for the small hole in the corner that Carrie was able to get through.

“Come on Doug. We don’t want to lose that calf.”

They left and went to another part of the barn. Carrie found some corn morsels. She ate some, but then baby number one arrived.

Carrie was warmer because she was right above a heat lamp that was meant to keep a newly born calf, warm. Doug and his father never knew the role they played in a life and death game.